Talk:European Russia

Andrew Alexander, are you trying to whitewash Russian history and make it look like this wasn't an empire but a friendly place where all nations were treated like VIPs? The official 1897 census which is quoted in "Ukrainian language" used the term "European Russia" (Jevropejska Rossija) to refer to all the traditional East Slavic lands within the empire. By removing the explanation, you are pretending that this "big brother" attitude (to be kind) didn't exist, implying that achieving Ukrainian self-identity and national status hasn't been a struggle. Get it? Those terms aren't being "revived"; this is a reference. It's a historic fact with very important implications.

Finally, you're removing a valuable reference. When the census was quoted there, the first thing I did was click on the link here to confirm exactly what was meant by "European Russia" in that context. Of course, there was nothing relevant, and I had to use other sources to confirm, but if I had just relied on this article as it stood I wouldn't have realized that Ukraine and Belarus were being tossed in with Russia by that census. —Michael Z. 2006-01-30 04:43 Z